“Black Genius: Essays on an American Legacy is the book we have been waiting for from Tre Johnson…This collection of sharp, funny, and brilliantly discursive essays cut through the craziness of our current moment with clear-eyed sanity.”
—Boston Globe
“Throughout history, Black Americans have been resilient and adaptive, and have always found ways to celebrate their culture. In this book, Johnson calls attention to the sometimes-unnoticed “brilliance” of Black leaders in stories that are personal, profound and inspirational. Readers will rejoice.”
—The Miami Times
“Each essay is finely crafted as a standalone piece, and the thematic threads that run through the collection make it all the stronger when taken as a whole. It’s an auspicious first outing from an unflinching voice”
—Publisher’s Weekly (Starred Review)
“Johnson’s shout-out to and about Black people is both a call for Black pride and an invitation for readers of all backgrounds to broaden their definitions of genius and recognize the unexamined intersections and unfamilar corners in their lives that evidence Black creativity, intelligence, and humanity.”
—Library Journal (Starred Review)
“Johnson celebrates the Black genius that society throttles through a wide range of examples, from comic books to music (with a lovely remembrance of the peace-and-love groove of the Fifth Dimension and even an understanding word or two for Kanye West) and from comic Dick Gregory to Black Panther…Readers will leave this provocative book wanting to hear much more from Johnson.”
—Kirkus (Starred Review)
“In this collection Tre Johnson emphatically and elegantly moves every conception I’ve ever had about the modes and movements of genius in Black folk. The book refuses to robotically crease its pants and cross its legs, opting instead to deploy the comic, tragic mundanely genius in wholly original ways. This is the book, sadly and thankfully, that these political times call for, and only a Black genius named Tre Johnson could pull it off with odd rancor, counterpunches and utter doses of Black smooth.”
—Kiese Laymon, author of Heavy: An American Memoir
“Black Genius reads like a blerdy conversation you have at the cookout, and we have Tre Johnson’s own genius to thank for it. Johnson observes our singular genius, broadly defined, reveling in well-known as well as everyday Black folks’ creativity, resiliency, joy, ingenuity, intelligence, pain, and beauty. He celebrates our ability to make, remake, and move culture, history, and ultimately, ourselves. Timely and affirming, this book is a love letter to Black brilliance.”
—Deesha Philyaw, author of The Secret Lives of Church Ladies
“Tre Johnson writes with a verve that honors and demonstrates the very genius he’s set out to explore. It’s an ambitious goalpost and he doesn’t just meet it, he races past it, he FloJos it, he Michael Jordans it, he Mae Jemisons it. This book uses wisdom, razor sharp insight, and actual laugh-out-loud humor to unravel the DNA of Black brilliance, Black innovation, and Black excellence. It’s never pandering, it’s innately American, and it’s, to use Johnson’s own words for us, ‘utterly amazing.'”
—R. Eric Thomas, national bestselling author of Here for It: Or How to Save Your Soul in America
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